I&B Ministry
I&B ministry acted against 126 violations of Programme Code in last 3 years
Mumbai: During 2018 to 2021, the Government took action against 126 cases of violation of Programme Code laid down in the Cable Television Networks (CTN) Rules, 1994 framed under Cable Television Networks Act, 1995. The action with respect to cases was taken by issuance of advisories, warnings, apology scroll orders, and off-air orders, said the ministry on Friday.
“Government has an institutional mechanism for taking action in respect of private TV channels which are found to violate the Programme Code. The I&B ministry also issues advisories from time to time to private satellite TV channels for adhering to the Programme Code,” said the minister of information and broadcasting, Anurag Thakur in the ongoing monsoon session of the Parliament.
The minister was responding to a query put forth in the Lok Sabha on whether the Government has taken cognizance of high decibel, sensationalist and slanderous news programmes/debates being hosted on Indian news channels. The Government was asked whether it has received complaints against news channels for violating the broadcasting guidelines and broadcasting fake news, hate and divisive agenda during the last three years.
The Government was also asked whether it is planning to initiate any code of conduct or broad guidelines for the debates that happen on electronic media and the time by which final decision is likely to be taken in this regard.
The Programme Code contains broad guidelines related to content broadcast on private television channels.
The guidelines also provide that no programme should contain anything obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos, and half-truths, and should not criticise malign or slander any individual in person or certain groups, segments of social, public and moral life of the country.
The Rules provide for a three-level complaint redressal mechanism; Level I by the broadcaster, Level II by the self-regulating bodies of the broadcasters; and Level III by oversight mechanism of the Central Government.
I&B Ministry
MIB reiterates IPTV self declaration rules, warns against agents
Advisory dated April 22, 2026 flags no fee, no third party role in filings.
MUMBAI: Before the screens light up, the paperwork must too and the government is reminding players not to outsource the basics. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued a fresh advisory to IPTV service providers, reiterating the mandatory process for filing self-declarations before launching services and cautioning against the use of unauthorised intermediaries.
The advisory, dated April 22, 2026, anchors its guidance in the IPTV policy framework issued on September 8, 2008. Under these rules, all telecom licensees and cable operators including MSOs and LCOs are required to submit a self-certified declaration prior to commencing IPTV operations.
The process, the ministry emphasised, is deliberately simple. Providers must file the declaration in a prescribed format with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Department of Telecommunications, and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The form captures basic operational details such as licence or registration information, proposed start date, service area, and network infrastructure.
Importantly, the ministry underscored that the filing requires no third-party assistance and carries no fee effectively shutting the door on consultants or agents claiming to “fast-track” approvals.
In a pointed warning, the advisory clarified that no external entity has any role in processing IPTV self-declarations and cannot expedite submissions. Stakeholders have been advised to engage only with designated government officials and remain cautious of unauthorised facilitators.
For queries, operators have been directed to reach out through the ministry’s official communication channels. The advisory was issued by Shiv Ram Meena, Under Secretary to the Government of India.
In a sector where compliance can often feel layered, the message is straightforward: file it yourself, file it right, and don’t pay for what’s meant to be free.
